BROAD AND NARROW ROADS

MATTHEW 7:13–14

Modern roads vary considerably from one to another. Six-lane freeways, two-lane state highways, and one-lane gravel roads each provide a different travel experience. The same was true in the world of the Bible. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turned the attention of his listeners to roads in order to teach them about entering the Kingdom of God. Using an idiom that incorporated particular characteristics of Israel’s geography, Jesus said, “Broad is the road that leads to destruction. . . . Narrow [is] the road that leads to life” (Matt. 7:13–14).

Travel patterns established the road system during the time of the Gospels. Whenever possible, people walked the shortest distance with the least change in elevation, so topography dictated travel routes in the Holy Land. As travelers and pack animals made repeated trips, a path was worn along the most desirable routes. For local journeys, a road was simply a well-worn path, sometimes just wide enough for those walking it.5 The Romans, however, had created a complex road system that connected trade routes from Africa, Asia, and Europe that passed through the Promised Land.

Jesus’s words had more to do with the terrain through which the road traveled than with the actual width of the road. The broad road to which Jesus referred may well have been the Romans’ international highway that coursed through open coastal plains and broad valleys of the Promised Land connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe. A section of this highway passing through the plain of Magdala was visible to Jesus and his listeners.

International highway going through the plain of Magdala (view looking northeast).

By contrast, the narrow roads were those in the interior of the country that made their way through the mountains by using narrow valleys through Samaria and ridges in Judea. Because the mountainous regions were more isolated than the coastal plains and their road systems more difficult to traverse, international traffic avoided these narrow roads. Thus the broad and narrow roads led through very different terrain and very different regions. The coastal plains and Galilee were geographical regions open and accessible to international travel and influence. Samaria was also relatively open, with valleys between the mountains that connected to the coast and Galilee. But access to Judea was restricted to the ridges and therefore more isolated.

Perhaps Jesus used that difference to teach about entering into the Kingdom of God. The broad road leading to destruction was like the international highway most frequently used by Gentiles passing through the Promised Land that became steeped in a pantheon of foreign idols and culture. Travel down that road may have been easier, but it was a road into assimilation that could lead the traveler away from the one true God.

The narrow roads were more difficult to travel due to the terrain through which they passed. But the more isolated the road, the less chance for assimilation into corrupting influences. “Broad is the road that leads to destruction. . . . Narrow [is] the road that leads to life” (Matt. 7:13–14).

Examples of Broad and Narrow Roads

International highway going along the Mediterranean coastline toward Egypt (view looking west).